U.S. patent number 10,261,316 [Application Number 15/347,673] was granted by the patent office on 2019-04-16 for head-up display control apparatus and method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hyundai Autron Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Hyundai Autron Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Byung Jik Keum, Hyung Suk Oh.
United States Patent |
10,261,316 |
Oh , et al. |
April 16, 2019 |
Head-up display control apparatus and method
Abstract
An HUD (Head-Up Display) control apparatus may include: a
distance detector configured to detect a distance to an obstacle in
front of a vehicle; and a controller configured to adjust a virtual
image formation position of HUD information to a closer position in
response to the distance, when the obstacle is located at a closer
position than a virtual image formation position in a specific
range designed in an HUD.
Inventors: |
Oh; Hyung Suk (Yongin-si,
KR), Keum; Byung Jik (Seoul, KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hyundai Autron Co., Ltd. |
Seongnam-si |
N/A |
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Hyundai Autron Co., Ltd.
(Seongnam-si, KR)
|
Family
ID: |
58584102 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/347,673 |
Filed: |
November 9, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20170131550 A1 |
May 11, 2017 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
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Nov 10, 2015 [KR] |
|
|
10-2015-0157768 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06T
3/40 (20130101); G06T 11/60 (20130101); G02B
27/0101 (20130101); G02B 2027/014 (20130101); B60R
2300/205 (20130101); B60R 1/00 (20130101); G02B
2027/0138 (20130101); G02B 2027/0141 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60K
35/00 (20060101); G06T 3/40 (20060101); G06T
11/60 (20060101); G02B 27/01 (20060101); B60R
1/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1898961 |
|
Jan 2007 |
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CN |
|
101464562 |
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Jun 2009 |
|
CN |
|
104039578 |
|
Sep 2014 |
|
CN |
|
104512354 |
|
Apr 2015 |
|
CN |
|
105163972 |
|
Dec 2015 |
|
CN |
|
2004168230 |
|
Jun 2004 |
|
JP |
|
2008-114672 |
|
May 2008 |
|
JP |
|
2009-288388 |
|
Dec 2009 |
|
JP |
|
5267727 |
|
May 2013 |
|
JP |
|
2015-197496 |
|
Nov 2015 |
|
JP |
|
10-2009-0076242 |
|
Jul 2009 |
|
KR |
|
Primary Examiner: Perungavoor; Sathyanaraya V
Assistant Examiner: Brown, Jr.; Howard D
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An HUD (Head-Up Display) control apparatus comprising: a
distance detector configured to detect a distance to an obstacle in
front of a vehicle; and a controller configured to adjust a virtual
image formation position of HUD information to a closer position in
response to the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle so
that the HUD information does not overlap the obstacle on a
windshield of the vehicle, when the obstacle is located at a closer
position than a virtual image formation position in a specific
range designed in an HUD, wherein the controller adjusts a distance
to a flat mirror that reflects the HUD information on a screen onto
which the HUD information is outputted, in order to adjust the
virtual image formation position of the HUD information in response
to the distance information from the vehicle to the obstacle, and
wherein when the flat mirror is moved close to or away from the
screen, the controller adjusts a reflection angle of the flat
mirror depending on a moving distance of the flat mirror such that
a center of the HUD information which is reflected from the flat
mirror and transmitted to an aspheric mirror is not changed.
2. The HUD control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
moves the flat mirror away from or close to the screen, using a
motor.
3. The HUD control apparatus of claim 1, wherein a distance for
moving the flat mirror in response to the distance from the vehicle
to the obstacle is previously stored in a form of a lookup table in
a memory.
4. The HUD control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
adjusts the reflection angle of the flat mirror using a motor.
5. The HUD control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reflection
angle of the flat mirror, which is to be adjusted according to the
moving distance of the flat mirror, is previously stored in a form
of a lookup table in a memory.
6. An HUD control method comprising: sensing, by a controller, an
obstacle in front of a vehicle through an obstacle sensor;
detecting, by the controller, a distance to the obstacle from the
vehicle through a distance detector; adjusting, by the controller,
a virtual image formation position of HUD information to a closer
position in response to the distance so that the HUD information
does not overlap the obstacle on a windshield of the vehicle, when
the obstacle is located at a closer position than a virtual image
formation position in a specific range designed in an HUD, and
adjusting, by the controller, a reflection angle of a flat mirror
such that a center of the HUD information which is reflected from
the flat mirror and transmitted to an aspheric mirror is not
changed, when the flat mirror is moved close to or away from a
screen, wherein in the adjusting of the virtual image formation
position, the controller adjusts a distance to the flat mirror that
reflects the HUD information on the screen onto which the HUD
information is outputted, to adjust the virtual image formation
position of the HUD information in response to the distance
information from the vehicle to the obstacle.
7. The HUD control method of claim 6, wherein the controller moves
the flat mirror away from or close to the screen, using a motor,
and a distance for moving the flat mirror in response to the
distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is previously stored in a
form of a lookup table in a memory.
8. The HUD control method of claim 6, wherein the controller
adjusts the reflection angle of the flat mirror using a motor, and
the reflection angle of the flat mirror, which is to be adjusted
according to a moving distance of the flat mirror, is previously
stored in a form of a lookup table in a memory.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims priority to Korean application
number 10-2015-0157768, filed on Nov. 10, 2015, the entire contents
of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an HUD (Head-Up Display) control
apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an HUD control
apparatus and method which is capable of adjusting a virtual image
formation position by adjusting a mechanism of an HUD according to
a distance to a target object in front of a vehicle.
Description of Related Art
Recently, most vehicles have a navigation system mounted therein to
provide a destination and road guide to a driver. Furthermore,
vehicles having an HUD mounted therein have also been on the
market, the HUD projecting desired information onto the windshield
of the corresponding vehicle and enabling a driver to acquire the
projected information while the driver keeps eyes forward.
Furthermore, research is being conducted on a method for displaying
specific information in the form of AR (Augmented Reality) through
the HUD.
The AR indicates a technique for turning the environment around a
user into a digital interface by placing 3D virtual objects in the
real world seen by the user. Since the AR mixes a virtual world
having additional information with the real world in real time and
shows the mixed world as one video, the AR is also referred to as
MR (Mixed Reality).
A conventional HUD has a virtual image display position (or virtual
image formation position) which is physically fixed in a specific
range.
For example, the HUD could associate HUD information on only a
target object within a specific range of 8 m to 15 m with the
position of the target object, and display the target object with
the HUD information. Therefore, when the target object is located
at a position closer than the specific range (for example, during
city driving), the target object deviates from the range in which
the display position of HUD information can be adjusted. Thus, the
HUD information appears to overlap the target object or is not
matched with the target object.
In order to solve such a problem, there is a demand for a method
capable of accurately displaying HUD information at a position
corresponding to a distance to a target object from a vehicle, when
the target object is located at a position deviating from a
specific range in which HUD information can be displayed through
software adjustment, the specific range indicating a physical
specific range in which an HUD can display HUD information.
The related art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean
Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0076242 published on Jul. 13, 2009
and entitled "HUD for vehicle and operation control method
thereof".
BRIEF SUMMARY
Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to an HUD
control apparatus and method which is capable of adjusting a
virtual image formation position by adjusting a mechanism of an HUD
according to a distance to a target object in front of a
vehicle.
In one embodiment, an HUD control apparatus may include: a distance
detector configured to detect a distance to an obstacle in front of
a vehicle; and a controller configured to adjust a virtual image
formation position of HUD information to a closer position in
response to the distance, when the obstacle is located at a closer
position than a virtual image formation position in a specific
range designed in an HUD.
The controller may adjust a distance to a flat mirror that reflects
the HUD information on a screen onto which the HUD information is
outputted, in order to adjust the virtual image formation position
of the HUD information in response to the distance information from
the vehicle to the obstacle.
The controller may move the flat mirror away from or close to the
screen, using a motor.
A distance for moving the flat mirror in response to the distance
from the vehicle to the obstacle may be previously stored in the
form of a lookup table in a memory.
When the flat mirror is moved close to or away from the screen, the
controller may adjust a reflection angle of the flat mirror
depending on the moving distance of the flat mirror such that the
center of the HUD information which is reflected from the flat
mirror and transmitted to the aspheric mirror is not changed.
The controller may adjust the reflection angle of the flat mirror
using a motor.
The reflection angle of the flat mirror, which is to be adjusted
according to the moving distance of the flat mirror, may be
previously stored in a form of a lookup table in a memory.
In another embodiment, an HUD control method may include: sensing,
by a controller, an obstacle in front of a vehicle through an
obstacle sensor; detecting a distance to the obstacle from the
vehicle through a distance detector; and adjusting a virtual image
formation position of HUD information to a closer position in
response to the distance, when the obstacle is located at a closer
position than a virtual image formation position in a specific
range designed in an HUD.
In the adjusting of the virtual image formation position, the
controller may adjust a distance to a flat mirror that reflects the
HUD information on a screen onto which the HUD information is
outputted, in order to adjust the virtual image formation position
of the HUD information in response to the distance information from
the vehicle to the obstacle.
The controller may move the flat mirror away from or close to the
screen, using a motor, and a distance for moving the flat mirror in
response to the distance from the vehicle to the obstacle may be
previously stored in the form of a lookup table in a memory.
The HUD control method may further include adjusting, by the
controller, a reflection angle of the flat mirror such that the
center of the HUD information which is reflected from the flat
mirror and transmitted to the aspheric mirror is not changed, when
the flat mirror is moved close to or away from the screen.
The controller may adjust the reflection angle of the flat mirror
using a motor, and the reflection angle of the flat mirror, which
is to be adjusted according to the moving distance of the flat
mirror, may be previously stored in the form of a lookup table in a
memory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a photograph for describing an aspheric mirror used in a
general HUD.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an
HUD control apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a reflection angle adjusting
operation of a flat mirror, when the flat mirror is moved close to
or away from a screen in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an HUD display control method in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Hereafter, an HUD (Head-Up Display) control apparatus and method in
accordance with embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Throughout the specification, it should be noted that the drawings
are not to precise scale and may be exaggerated in thickness of
lines or sizes of components for descriptive convenience and
clarity only. Furthermore, the terms as used herein are defined by
taking functions of the invention into account and can be changed
according to the custom or intention of users or operators.
Therefore, definition of the terms should be made according to the
overall disclosures set forth herein.
FIG. 1 is a photograph for describing a configuration of an
aspheric mirror and a flat mirror in an HUD (Head-Up Display) which
is related to an embodiment of the present invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the HUD for a vehicle reflects and
displays HUD information on a windshield of the vehicle through an
aspheric mirror for HUD, corresponding to the aspheric shape (that
is, curved surface) of the windshield.
The HUD information (video) is incident on the aspheric mirror
after the HUD information (video) displayed on a screen is
reflected through the flat mirror.
As the HUD information reflected through the aspheric mirror is
displayed on the aspheric windshield, the HUD information which is
not distorted but has a normal ratio is displayed on the
windshield.
For reference, the aspheric surface refers to a curved surface
which slightly deviates from a spherical surface. Since the
spherical surface is easy to manufacture or test, a coaxial optical
system is typically used. However, when an optical system with a
small aberration is configured on a small number of surfaces, the
aspheric surface is more frequently used. In order to manufacture
the aspheric mirror, a separate aspheric mirror is precisely
injection-molded according to the type of each vehicle.
As described above, however, when a target object is located at a
position closer than the specific range designed in the HUD (for
example, during city driving), the target object deviates from the
range in which an HUD information display position (virtual image
formation position) can be adjusted in software manner. Thus, the
HUD information appears to overlap the target object or is not
matched with the target object.
Thus, in the present embodiment, the position of the flat mirror
may be moved close to the screen such that a virtual image
formation position can be adjusted to a closer position than a
specific range designed in the HUD. Therefore, when the target
object is located at a closer position than the specific range
designed in the HUD (for example, during city driving), the HUD
information display position (virtual image formation position) may
be adjusted to a closer position, such that the HUD information
does not appear to overlap the target object.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an
HUD control apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the HUD display control apparatus in
accordance with the embodiment of the present invention includes an
obstacle sensor 110, a distance detector 120, a controller 130, a
first motor MT1, a first motor driver 140, a second motor MT2 and a
second motor driver 150.
The obstacle sensor 110 senses an obstacle (target object) in front
of a vehicle.
The obstacle sensor 110 may sense an obstacle using a LiDAR (Light
Detection And Ranging) sensor, radar sensor or camera. The obstacle
sensor 110 is not limited thereto, but may further include other
obstacle sensors (for example, ultrasonic sensor, infrared sensor
and the like).
For reference, the LiDAR sensor refers to a sensor that measures a
time required until a laser pulse is returned after the laser pulse
is emitted, in order to measure the position coordinate of a
reflecting body.
The distance detector 120 may detect a signal reflected from an
obstacle (for example, pedestrian, vehicle, wall or article) in the
viewing direction (or driving direction), and detect a distance
between the obstacle and the vehicle and the position (or distance)
of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle.
In the present embodiment, the functions of the obstacle sensor 110
and the distance detector 120 are separately described, for
convenience of description. Depending on embodiments, however, the
obstacle sensor 110 and the distance detector 120 may be integrated
with each other.
The controller 130 determines whether the HUD information display
position (virtual image formation position) needs to be adjusted,
based on the distance to the obstacle in the viewing direction (or
driving direction), which is obtained according to the information
detected through the distance detector 120.
For example, the controller 130 determines that the HUD information
display position (virtual image formation position) needs to be
adjusted to a closer position, when the target object is located at
a closer position than the virtual image formation position range
(for example, 8 m to 15 m) designed in the HUD (for example, during
city driving).
The first motor driver 140 drives the first motor MT1 to move the
flat mirror close to or away from the screen, according to the
control of the controller 130.
For example, when it is determined that the HUD information display
position (virtual image formation position) needs to be adjusted to
a closer position, the first motor driver 140 drives the first
motor MT1 to move the flat mirror close to the screen. On the other
hand, when it is determined that the HUD information display
position (virtual image formation position) needs to be adjusted to
a remoter position in a state where the flat mirror is located
close to the screen, the first motor driver 140 drives the first
motor MT1 to move the flat mirror away from the screen (refer to
FIGS. 3A to 3C).
At this time, the moving distance (displacement) of the flat
mirror, corresponding to the distance from the vehicle to the
obstacle, may be previously stored in the form of a lookup table in
an internal memory (not illustrated).
However, when the flat mirror is moved close to or away from the
screen, the reflection angle of the flat mirror needs to be
adjusted in such a manner that the center in direction of light
which is reflected from the flat mirror and transmitted toward the
aspheric mirror is not changed.
Therefore, the controller 130 calculates a reflection angle for
adjusting the flat mirror in response to the moving distance
(displacement) of the flat mirror, and controls the second motor
driver 150.
The second motor driver 150 drives the second motor MT2 to adjust
the reflection angle of the flat mirror, according to the control
of the controller 130 (refer to FIGS. 3B and 3C).
FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams for describing a reflection angle
adjusting operation of the flat mirror, when the flat mirror is
moved close to or away from the screen in FIG. 2.
As illustrated in FIG. 3A, when the flat mirror is located at the
remotest position from the screen, a virtual image is formed at the
maximum distance (for example, 15 m). As illustrated in FIG. 3B,
when the flat mirror is moved to a closer position to the screen, a
virtual image is formed at a shorter distance (for example, 8 m).
Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 3C, when the flat mirror is
moved to the closest position to the screen, a virtual image is
formed at the shortest distance (for example, 2.5 m). At this time,
as the flat mirror gets close to the screen, the size of a screen
on which the HUD video is displayed, that is, the screen size of
the HUD video displayed on the windshield tends to decrease.
Furthermore, as the flat mirror is away from or close to the
screen, the reflection angle of the flat mirror needs to be
adjusted in such a manner that the center in direction of light
which is reflected through the flat mirror and transmitted to the
aspheric mirror is not changed.
Therefore, as the flat mirror is close to or away from the screen,
the controller 130 adjusts the reflection angle of the flat mirror
through the second motor driver 150 in response to the moving
distance (displacement) of the flat mirror.
At this time, the reflection angle of the flat mirror, which needs
to be adjusted according to the moving distance (displacement), may
be previously stored in the form of a lookup table in the internal
memory (not illustrated).
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an HUD display control method in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 130 senses an obstacle (target
object) in front of the vehicle through the obstacle sensor 110 at
step S101.
When the obstacle is sensed, the controller 130 detects a distance
to the obstacle from the vehicle through the distance detector 120
at step S102.
For example, when the vehicle travels around the city, the distance
to the obstacle from the vehicle is relatively short in most cases.
Furthermore, when the vehicle travels in the suburbs, the distance
to the obstacle from the vehicle is relatively long in most
cases.
Thus, when the obstacle is located at a closer position than a
specific range (that is, virtual image formation position) designed
in the HUD (for example, during city driving), the controller 130
adjusts the HUD information display position (virtual image
formation position) to a closer position such that the HUD
information does not appear to overlap the obstacle.
The controller 130 adjusts the distance from the screen to the flat
mirror in order to display the HUD information related to the
obstacle in response to the detected distance information (that is,
distance information from the vehicle to the obstacle), at step
S103.
For example, when it is determined that the HUD information display
position (virtual image formation position) needs to be adjusted to
a closer position, the controller 130 moves the flat mirror close
to the screen. On the other hand, when it is determined that the
HUD information display position (virtual image formation position)
needs to be adjusted to a remoter position in a state where the
flat mirror is close to the screen, the controller 130 moves the
flat mirror away from the screen.
At this time, the moving distance (displacement) of the flat
mirror, corresponding to the distance from the vehicle to the
obstacle, may be previously stored in the form of a lookup table in
an internal memory (not illustrated).
Then, the controller 130 adjusts the reflection angle of the flat
mirror in response to the moving distance (displacement) of the
flat mirror at step S104.
That is, when the flat mirror is moved close to or away from the
screen, the controller 130 adjusts the reflection angle of the flat
mirror such that that the center in direction of light which is
reflected from the flat mirror and transmitted to the aspheric
mirror is not changed.
At this time, the reflection angle of the flat mirror, which needs
to be adjusted according to the moving distance (displacement), may
be previously stored in the form of a lookup table in the internal
memory (not illustrated).
In accordance with the present embodiment, the HUD control
apparatus and method can adjust a virtual image formation position
by adjusting the position of a component (that is, the flat mirror)
of the HUD according to a distance to an obstacle (target object)
in front of the vehicle, such that HUD information can be
accurately displayed at a position corresponding to the distance to
the target object from the vehicle.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed
for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate
that various modifications, additions and substitutions are
possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the
invention as defined in the accompanying claims.
* * * * *